Beleggen in kerninfrastructuuractiva

Risicowaarschuwing

Beleggen brengt risico met zich mee. De waarde van beleggingen en de inkomsten hieruit kunnen zowel dalen als stijgen en het is mogelijk dat een belegger minder terugkrijgt dan het belegde bedrag. Resultaten uit het verleden zijn geen garantie voor resultaten in de toekomst.

Onze aanpak

Strategie

We beleggen in operationele activa met een beperkt of geen bouwrisico. We richten ons op infrastructuurinvesteringen in Europa die meestal al vanaf de eerste dag rendement opleveren. Daarbij letten we op de volgende beleggingskenmerken:

activa uit het lagere tot middensegment in minder competitieve marktsectoren.
activa die basisvoorzieningen bieden en voorspelbare cashflows hebben.
gereguleerde activa of activa waarop een solide contractueel raamwerk van toepassing is.
activa met een lager risico die een beperkte operationele ontwikkeling vereisen.
meerderheids- of minderheidsbelangen waar we de juiste governance-rechten hebben.

Filosofie

Onze beleggingsfilosofie voor economische infrastructuur concentreert zich rond onze overtuiging dat infrastructuur een activaklasse voor de lange termijn is die aantrekkelijke, consistente rendementen voor beleggers kan opleveren. Onze aanpak is gericht op:

de ontwikkeling van een fondsstructuur voor de lange termijn die in lijn ligt met de beleggersdoelstellingen.
het samenstellen van een portefeuille met infrastructuurinvesteringen in en rond de kern van het middensegment.
het belang van effectief vermogensbeheer en de betrokkenheid van belanghebbenden.
helder definiëren waaruit de kerninfrastructuur binnen ons beoogd rendementsniveau is opgebouwd.

Beleggers

Beleggers in onze private markets oplossingen omvatten pensioenfondsen van zowel overheidsinstellingen als bedrijven, verzekeringsmaatschappijen en family offices van overal ter wereld.

Kerninfrastructuurportefeuille

Nordic Power

In June 2015, we acquired 100% of Nordic Power AS, a portfolio of 13 newly commissioned hydropower plants from Nordkraft, a Norwegian utility controlled by the Narvik Municipality. Post acquisition, we added an additional two plants to the portfolio, taking Nordic Power’s total projected annual output to 160 GWh.

In July 2021, we merged Nordic Power with a portfolio of small-scale hydropower and windpower assets owned by aventron AG, a Switzerland-headquartered renewable power producer. The merger created Norway’s third largest small-scale hydro operator with 41 hydropower plants and two wind farms.

The two portfolios are highly complementary with the merger providing geographical diversity, operational synergy potential and further de-risking of the business by enhancing the long term competitive position of the joint company.

Key attractions:

Attractive return and yield profile
Core, power generation asset
Proven technology, low operating risk and long asset lives
Exclusive option over pipeline of new plants

Sector: energy
Subsector: hydro
Geography: Norway
Ownership: 33.5%

Rock Rail

Rock Rail Moorgate

Acquired February 2016. 25x6 carriage electric Siemens trains, serving Great Northern franchise Moorgate commuter lines, operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.

Sector: transport
Location: UK
Ownership: 94%

Rock Rail East Anglia PLC

Acquired October 2016. 20x12 carriage electric Stadler trains, 24x4 and 14x3 carriage bi-mode Stadler trains serving the InterCity, Stansted Express and Regional lines of the East Anglia Franchise, operated by Abellio. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.

Sector: transport
Location: UK
Ownership: 48%

Rock Rail South Western

Acquired June 2017. 30x5 carriage electric Bombardier trains, serving key London commuter services on the South Western franchise, operated by First MTR. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.

Sector: transport
Location: UK
Ownership: 45%

Rock Rail West Coast

Acquired December 2019. 10x7 carriage electric Hitachi trains and13x5 carriage bi-mode Hitachi trains serving the West Coast Partnership Franchise, operated by First Trenitalia. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.

Sector: transport
Location: UK
Ownership: 94%

Auris Kaasunjakelu Oy

In June 2015, we acquired 100% of Auris Kaasunjakelu, the largest natural gas distribution pipeline in Finland, from Gasum Oy, a Finnish state controlled company. The pipeline provides local gas distribution to Helsinki and 11 surrounding areas.

Key attractions:

Strong cash generation and yield
Core infrastructure asset with regulated return
Safe and stable operating and regulatory environment
Safe, stable operating environment
Recently upgraded asset base and low capex requirement
Growth opportunities through acquisition

Sector: utilities
Subsector: gas distribution
Geography: Finland
Ownership: 100%

Blu-H Energy – Italian biomethane platform

In August 2023, the Aberdeen infrastructure team agreed a long-term partnership with Blu-H Energy S.r.l (“BHE”) and acquired two biogas facilities in Italy. As part of its strategy, the partnership will look to build scale by acquiring additional operating biogas assets in Italy, with a view to upgrade the facilities to enable the production of biomethane. BHE is an Italian, renewable gas specialist, with origination and asset management capability, as well as a network of strong relationships with equipment providers, regulatory bodies and sector specialists. Once upgraded, the facilities will use best-in-class technology to produce biomethane, reducing Italy’s dependency on external gas imports while supporting its wider energy transition objectives.

Noordgastransport

Acquired September 2017 interest in NGT UJV, and May 2018 stake in NGT B.V.. The NGT system consists of a pipeline and processing system that transports and treats natural gas that is produced in the Dutch Continental Shelf, and consists of:

A 140km pipeline (“NGT Extension”) constructed in 1999
A 178km ‘legacy’ pipeline (“Legacy Pipeline”) constructed in 1975/li>
An onshore gas processing plant (“Processing Plant”) at Uithuizen, the Netherlands

Sector: energy
Location: Netherlands
Ownership: 18% / 20%

Oikos

Acquired May 2019. Owner and operator of a state-of-the-art liquid bulk storage terminal located on the River Thames Estuary offering c.300,000 m3 tank capacity and unique access to pipeline connections, deep-water jetty and road loading facilities. Oikos currently handles jet fuel and diesel, and is critical to supplying jet fuel to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports and diesel to the South East and Midlands of the UK.

Sector: energy
Location: UK
Ownership: 100%

Riihimaen Kaukolampo Oy

Acquired in February 2019. Riihimäen Kaukolämpö Oy is the owner and operator of the district heating network in the in the City of Riihimäki and the surrounding areas. Riihimäki is a rapidly expanding “commuter city” located within 100km of Helsinki and Tampere, two of the most economically vibrant regions in Finland. The length of the network is approximately 100km.

Sector: energy
Location: Finland
Ownership: 49%

Unitank

Loimua Oy

Acquired in July 2019. Loimua primarily owns and operates 760MW of heat production capacity and 17 district heating networks across Central and Southern Finland. The networks cover c.500km and c.4,600 supply points.

Loimua produces district heating and electricity, and sells and distributes district heating and natural gas in Häme, Central Finland, Northern Ostrobothnia and Heinola.

Sector: utilities
Location: Finland
Ownership: 37.5%

Polish Solar

Acquisition began Q3 2019. 351 MW of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic farms spread between seven operational (Aurora I, II & III, Helios I & II, Eos, Ra) or being developed projects by local developers. Construction of first farms completed in mid-2018 with balance coming online by Q1 2021. Revenue underpinned by 15-year guaranteed tariff under Poland’s newly introduced contract for difference regime.

Sector: energy
Location: Poland
Ownership: 100%

Airband

Acquired in November 2020, Airband is a provider of rural connectivity services in the West of England, historically through Fixed Wireless Networks (“FWA”). Since 2018 the business has pivoted towards providing Fibre to the Premises (“FTTP”), driven by UK Government led initiatives including subsidies, to promote significant investment in fibre infrastructure for rural areas and is targeting c.500,000 homes passed by 2026.

Sector: telecomms
Location: UK
Ownership: >50%

Outokummun Energia Oy

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Leer het hele team kennen

Dominic Helmsley

Head of Core Infrastructure

Dominic leidt het Core Infrastructure team bij Aberdeen Investments. Hij heeft meer dan 20 jaar ervaring in de infrastructuursector en combineert uitgebreide ervaring op het gebied van fusies en overnames met expertise op het gebied van vermogensbeheer. Dominic werkte 12 jaar bij BAA plc waar hij aan het hoofd stond van hun internationale acquisitiegroep en toezicht hield op de verwerving en het beheer van een aantal overzeese beleggingen. Dominic heeft vervolgens acht jaar in de fondsenbeheersector gewerkt, aanvankelijk bij Babcock and Brown, als onderdeel van het Europese infrastructuurteam dat een infrastructuurfonds van 2,2 miljard euro bijeenbracht, en vervolgens als partner bij Arcus Infrastructure Partners, dat in 2009 een managementbuy-out van Babcock and Brown voltooide.

Insights8 min Lees